April Classic Design Challenge : Cute Bee Digis

 Hello again crafty friends!! Are you as happy as I am that it's April?! It's time for another Classic Challenge! 

This month we are featuring the prettiest digi stamps from Cute Bee Digis. There are SO MANY cute and pretty digi designs to choose from! But I specifically chose Catherine Holding Tulips because it just looked so spring-like and had a pretty Easter outfit. Catherine looks like she just got back from her Sunday Easter service :)

I printed out the image and colored it in with Copics and cut the image out with Lawn Fawn "Small Stitched Rounded Rectangle Stackables" and then stamped my sentiment from Honey Bee Stamps "He Is Risen" stamp set. I used Mintay Papers Scalloped A2 sized card base, and cut my two design papers using MFT Double and Single Stitched dies to matt my main image. before I added my silk and velvet ribbons, I edged my main image and pink background paper with Spectrum Noir's Blush Metallic paint markers, and added some candy enamel dots.

I love how fresh and springy the card turned out. I really love coloring in digi stamps and finding new ones like the ones Cute Bee Digis offers, to my stamp catalog!! Thank you for visiting my blog and joining the Classic Design Team Monthly Challenge! I'll see you next month! :)

March : You Bake Me Happy

 Happy March, Ya'll!!! Is it spring yet?! Not so much here, but it hasn't been the worst winter, so I can deal.

This month, the Classic Design Team is featuring Dr. Digi's designs again. Dr. Digi has a huge selection of great images to choose from, and at a reasonable price, too. Take a look at the store here : Dr. Digi

I chose to use Bertha's Bread Baking Bonanza image. I chose it because I struggle and look as lost as Bertha, when I make homemade bread!!

I printed off the image and coloring it in with Copics. After coloring the image in, I taped off the edges of the image and sponged Antique Linen and Weathered Wood Distress Inks around the edges. I used Taylored Expressions Easy Edgers die to cut a pinking edge on some soft brown gingham paper from Simple Stories, from their "Gingham" collection. I adhered the gingham paper to a heavy Kraft cardstock, and added a ribbon from Maya Arts to the base. After tying the ribbon on the card, I placed the image over the front of the card base, then stamped my sentiment from Honey Bee stamps, then added three pearls from Honey Bees "Warm Pearls" collection.

I really had a hard time picking an image to color in, but I love how nice Bertha turned out!

I hope you're having a great spring and enjoying the warm weather!! Or I hope it's at least headed your way, soon! :) 

Classic Design Challenge : Snowman

 Aaaand, it's December already! How did we get here so fast???! I feel like we just left summer..

Anywho, I'm back with another great Classic Design Team digi. This month, our team is featuring designs from Goha Digi Stamps. I chose a cute snowman, because it reminded me of all those snowmen I made as a kid, back in the day. 

I decided not to feature "Christmasy" colors, but use fun shades with a vintage feel and color palate. 

I printed off my image and colored him in with Copics, then, I decided to outline him in a black Pigma Micron 01 archival ink pen, just to "pop" him off my paper just a bit. Then I diecut my image out with a die I found on Amazon, and sponged a few various shades of Distress Inks around my diecut edge. After sponging, I matted the back of my image with a light Kraft colored cardstock. I found a "dirty" vintage paper from Carta Bella, and adhered my image, matting one last kraft cardstock paper underneath for stiffness. I added a cheap pink lace I bought for less than a buck at a craft store, some blue Maya Arts Ribbon for .50 cents a yard at my local scrapstore, then a small slice of a Gingham paper from Daisy D's, under the ribbon for interest. I added a double bow and a tag stamped "Just for You", on it.

This card turned out so cute! I love that I chose to use different colors, despite the colors in the image. I kind of like that juxtaposition and surprise. It just stands out in that way and I like it.

Thank you for joining me this year with the Classic Design Team, I'm looking forward to Next year and a new round of cards and inspirations with you!

Happy New Year!!

August Beautiful Blossoms Challenge: Be Joyful

 Welcome back to another Beautiful Blossoms monthly challenge!! Are you having fun and getting inspired? I know I am!

This month's photo inspiration is so cheery! I love sunflowers! I also love the color of blue this vase has. So pretty!

I chose to use the sunflower colors as my inspiration and play off those cheery yellows they have.

I chose to use a stamp from Flourishes, a company that went out of business years ago, and colored it in with Copics. I matted that over some Kraft Cardstock and rounded the Kraft paper's corners. I paired my image with some yellow design paper (I cannot seem to find it anywhere or I'd name it), and used a corner punch to clip the corners into a decorative design. I added some peachy orange grosgrain ribbon and bow, and then added a sentiment from Simple Stories.

I rather like how it turned out. Clean, simple, and cute. Just the way I like them. I like my cards with minimal fuss so the images can take center stage. But every now and then, I'll fancy it up for fun.

Thank you for stopping by and I'll see you here for next month's Beautiful Blossoms Challenge photo!

Holiday Hello

 Hello and welcome back! I'm still on a Christmas card making kick and I'm enjoying finally feeling creative again after not being able to craft for so many years! 

So while I was pondering how I wanted my next Christmas card to look like, I knew exactly what stamp set I wanted to use, though I wasn't sure if it would turn out. I'd been itching to break out this set and use it since I bought it, but I gave it a go.

I chose to use Power Poppy's "Under Glass: Christmas Keepsakes", coloring it in with Copics. After coloring it in, I cut the edge of the image with a Spellbinder border die and matted it with some patterned paper. I created the layers I wanted and sponged everything with Antique Linen and Tea Dye Distress Inks to age it and give the vintage look and feel I wanted. I used some "puffy" popdots under my image to pop my items off the card to create depth and interest, keeping everything from looking flat and uninteresting. After that, I added lace, silk ribbon and some dark blue pearls to complete the card.

I love how the card turned out, though I wished I'd remembered to stitch my card while I was creating it! I was so in the groove and excited to color in my new stamp set, and I was loving how it was all coming together so quickly, I'd completely forgot to stitch my card in! More times than I care to admit, I'm always forgetting to stitch around my card. It happens :)

Peace and Joy

 Once again, it's Christmas in July!! In only six more months it will be Christmas Day! I can't wait! All those fun, festive traditions, food, and family fun! I love it!

Until then, I'll enjoy the countdown to the festivities by creating Christmas cards, inspired by Power Poppy's Monthly Blog Challenge. Why not? :)

I chose to create a card using the Power Poppy "Simple Joys" stamp set and coloring it in simply with Copics, only emphasizing the red glass ball ornaments. I chose some fantastic cozy looking patterned paper from Brutus Monroe called "Playful Plaid", adding some simple craft store lace, a blue silk ribbon, and some bronze pearl embellishments. 

I purposely kept everything simple so that the image and sentiment shines, but cheery paper colors to keep it from looking too dull.

I really enjoyed this months' Power Poppy challenge. At times it's great to get the old inspiration gears turning and realize new ideas and creativity by accident, just by participating in a fun challenge! I'm looking forward to next month's Power Poppy Challenge!

 

Jennifer Nilsson Designs

Hello and good morning crafting friends, I have some great news I am excited to share! I accepted a position on Jennifer Nilsson's Digital Arts design team! She has amazing designs and an amazing team of talented ladies on it! I am honored to be on the team with each one of them.

Jennifer has many, many, cute designs to choose from and that made it difficult to chose just one to debut on my blog. But because I just think snowmen are cute, I decided to use the Gift of Love snowman from her many designs.

I decided to color the image in tones of blues and teals, in my take on a "sepia" tone look. Instead of using browns and neutrals, I used blues in my image, ribbon, cardstock, and papers.

There are many ways to find Jennifer's art and be inspired by the team! You can follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, and her blog page for many ways to hear about news, sales, tutorials, fun challenges, and so much more! Don't forget to also sign up for her newsletter! Every newsletter she sends out is chock full ideas, challenges, news and freebies! You can find a sign up link for her news letter on her blog and Facebook group.


Etsy : Jennifer Nilsson Art

Miss Daisy : Jennifer Nilsson Art

Blog : Jennifer Nilsson Art Digital Designs

Pintrest : Jennifer Nilsson Art Digital Designs

Facebook : Jennifer Nilsson's Digital Art Group

Thank you for stopping by and be sure to stop by Jennifer's blog and check out the rest of Jennifer's design team!

~ Amanda

Happy Rides

Good morning, and happy Sunday to you! I have a nice and simple card today using Flourishes Bike Ride.

I stamped out Bike Ride onto Flourishes Classic White Cardstock and colored it in with Copics. I trimmed down the image piece and used my corner rounder to round out the bottom corners. After rounding the corners I added my blue ribbon and Flourishes Tailor Made Classic Tags die, that I stamped Hello onto, from Flourishes Friendly Reminder stamp set. I placed popdots under my bike image to lift it off the background patterned paper and attached it to my cardbase.

I want to mention that Bike Ride, Friendly Reminder, and all the other stamps in Flourishes online store are on sale until the end of the month! The sale is so popular, you our readers, have asked that the sale be extended and so we did! Almost every stamp set is $10, only!! Don't miss this stamp liquidation sale! To visit Flourishes online store visit: Flourishes LC

Have a happy Sunday, I'll see you on Fridays in September, as a part of a weekly Flourishes Friday Hop, from now on. That means five times as much inspiration! I can't wait to see you there.

~ Amanda

 

 

Zinnias

Good morning everyone, it's time for another Flourishes card!

I used my favorite set called Zinnias stamped out onto Flourishes Classic cardstock and colored in with Copics. I used Spellbinders Labels 47 to add the fancy border elements. I added some white ribbon with a Flourishes Tailor-Made Classic Tags die that I stamped with the sentiment from the Zinnias stamp set, and pearls.

This has to be one of my favorite stamp sets from Flourishes!

If you like this set, Flourishes is having a Retirement Sale, where almost every set is $10 each!! But the sale ends tonight, and once they are gone, Flourishes will remove them from the store, forever! Don't miss out on this set and others! Get to the store and find your new favorite stamp sets, today!

Patties Creations - Anything Goes
Kitty Bee Designs - Color Challenge
Jo's Scrap Shack - Anything Goes
Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
Color Crazy - Anything Goes

~ Amanda

Flourishes Release Week: Harp

Good morning, I hope you are enjoying Flourishes Release Week so far! Just today and tomorrow remaining until all the stamp sets are live in the Flourishes store!

Today am showing you another new set called Harp.

I stamped the Harp image onto Flourishes Classic White cardstock, and colored it in with Copic markers. Then I matted it using a gold foil background paper. I added a piece of ribbon and some gold pearls to accent my card.

What a regal image! There's no mistaking that beautiful image brings on my excitement for the Christmas holidays!

In honor of Flourishes, I am offering another blog prize during this Release Week! I am offering 3 Flourishes stamp sets, 2 yards of Flourishes May Arts Silk Ribbon: Mauve and Burgundy, plus some other laces and ribbons!

All you have to do is subscribe to my blog newsletter and leave a comment on ALL four days of the Flourishes Release Week. I will announce the winner August 14th. Be sure you remember to subscribe to my blog post emails, because you don't want to miss that announcement!


                                              Amanda Havon - you are here

Beverly Cole

Nancy Nickel

Naomi Gong

Vicki Dutcher

I hope you are as inspired by these ladies as I am! I'll see you back here tomorrow for the last day of our Release Week!!

~ Amanda

Flourishes Release Week: Glory to God

Good morning, are you ready for another beautiful image from Flourishes? Here we go!

This stamp image is from the Glory To God set, and it's beautiful!

I stamped out the Glory To God image onto Flourishes Classic White paper and colored it in with Copics.Then I die cut it out into a circle shape, matting it with my Spellbinders die shape. I added some gold ribbon and lace down the side, adding a few pearls and a peach rose button to complete my card.

Doesn't that card just make you want to celebrate Christmas, now? I know I do!

In honor of Flourishes, I am offering another blog prize during this Release Week! I am offering 3 Flourishes stamp sets, 2 yards of Flourishes May Arts Silk Ribbon: Mauve and Burgundy, plus some other laces and ribbons!

All you have to do is subscribe to my blog newsletter and leave a comment on ALL four days of the Flourishes Release Week. I will announce the winner August 14th. Be sure you remember to subscribe to my blog post emails, because you don't want to miss that announcement!

Please check out the other talented ladies here on the Flourishes Design Team, and see what they have created with the Glory To God stamp set!

                        Amanda Havon - you are here

Beverly Cole

Nancy Nickel

Naomi Gong

Vicki Dutcher

I hope you are inspired and ready to come back tomorrow for another new stamp release from Flourishes!

~ Amanda

It's Your Day!

Hello Flourishes Free for All Friday friends! I have a beautiful card for you today. I created a card using Flourishes Hollyhocks set.

I diecut out an hour glass shape using Flourishes Perfectly Pierced Hourglass die with Flourishes Classic Ivory cardstock. Then I stamped out the Hollyhocks onto the diecut, keeping the die in place so that the stamp image stayed within the open “window” borders. I removed the die and colored in the image with Copic markers. After coloring the image in, I created my card base with some added design papers. After attaching the design papers to my card base, I added some Color Made Easy ribbon in Azure Collection (#39) on top of my lace I added. I added my Hollyhock image and a bow made out of the 1/4 Azure Collection (#39) Color Made Easy ribbon and a pewter rose button on top of that, and completed my card with various aqua colored pearls all over my background, in the flower centers, of the card.

Thank you for stopping by, and I hope this inspires your crafting this weekend!
~ Amanda

YOU Are Special

Hello friends and welcome back to another fabulous Flourishes card. This such a special and pretty card, I just love how it turned out!

I used Flourishes You Sentiments that I stamped and framed in a metal frame and I painted over with white paint to "shabby it up", adding some pretty pearls under the sentiment. After that, I added some Prima flowers, a half a doily, and some Flourishes May Arts Mauve Ribbon. Then I matted everything in Flourishes Classic Ivory cardstock cutout into a frame using the Spellbinders Regal Frame die.

I wanted to go for a mixed media shabby chic look, so I decided to use something's I usually never use on my cards, such as Prima flowers and a metal frame to frame my sentiment. I am not comfortable in the mixed media realm, but I like to push myself creatively just to see where it goes.

I have created all of maybe 3 mixed media items or projects and I always over analyze each embellishment or accessory thinking it looks like too much or looks too "heavy". This time I just rolled with it and decided not to look at the in-process card too critically. After it came together I realized because I wasn't used to it, it was all "too much" before I even gave it a chance to evolve. So next time you're creating your next card, try using something you don't normally use or like to use, keep an open mind and see where it goes!

Thank you for stopping by and I'll see you next week with some new inspiration!

~ Amanda Havon

A Creative Journey July Blog Hop!!

Good morning crafty friends! I am back from a rather long absence to participate in my first blog hop with A Creative Journey with Melissa stamps!! I'm pretty excited and I hope you are too and ready to get inspired!

This release I am working with the other DT ladies to show off some pretty gorgeous and diverse stamp sets. Today I am going to show two of the stamp sets! They are the Everyday Alphabet Uppercase and Emoticon & the Everyday Lowercase and Numbers sets.

I made a soft yet cheery card to really make the yellow flowers and ribbon pop and really set off the inked alphabet.

 

I used A Creative Journey's Petals For You to inked in Stampin Up Sage ink, for the leaves and  Everyday Alphabet Uppercase and Emoticon set with the Lowercase set too,  inked in CTMH Gold Rush ink. I layered and matted everything on some scrap polka dot paper, and Kraft cardstock, then added some faux stitching around the patterned paper edges. To finish the card I added a golden yellow ribbon, some swirling bling and rhinestones for some pizzaz.

 

Now for the fun part of every stamp release blog hop: Prizes!! Simply answer this question for a chance to win! Question : What's Your Favorite A Creative Journey with Melissa Stamp Set?? You can see all the stamp sets here at A Creative Journey! Please leave your answer in the comments section below for your entry to win!

 

Thank you for visiting and please be sure to hop along to all of our other amazingly talented design team members and comment on each blog answering their questions correctly. If you do, you will be entered to win one of five prizes. You can win the Tie Dye and Splatter stamp set, the complete two piece set of the Everyday Alphabet stamp set, the complete two piece set of the Everyday Outline Alphabet stamp set! Contest ends Friday at 8 PM. Winners will be chosen and announced on A Creative Journey blog on Saturday July 12th!

 

Leticia

 

Alena

 

Brandie

 

Monica

 

 Amanda

 

Melissa 

S'more Fun!

Hello Friends! I'm on vacation at my Mom's home in Minnesota  with my two girls, helping her out and just having some summer fun!

Yesterday I was looking through some of the cards I have made with Flourishes new June release, and  I found one that just speaks to me of summer vacation and S'mores Fun!

I stamped S'more Fun out in Versafine Onyx Black in out onto Classic White paper. I colored my image in with the following Copic Collections: Dusty Rose, Sky, Azure, Fuschia, Tonal Neutrals, Lenten Rose, True Blue, Olive Green, Burnt Orange, Sunflower, Terra Cotta & Copper Collection. I matted My card in Color Made Easy Sunflower cardstock, and I used Turquoise Twill Striped Ribbon and Mauve Ruffled Edge Trim.

Here are my two lovely girls having fun at Grandma's farm in the northwoods of Minnesota.

They are living it up and we are planning our first s'mores party of the summer, with more to follow ;)

Thank you for visiting and have a great summer this year!

Flourishes Free For All Friday!

HELLO Flourishes Friends!  Lots to tell you today...

 I am going to revisit one of the stamp sets from last weeks Flourishes release! My favorite has to be those pretty Wildflowers!

I stamped Flourishes Picking Wildflowers in Versafine Onyx Black ink into Classic White cardstock. I colored the image in with the following Copic marker Collections: Olive Green, Lenten Rose, Buttercup, Sweet Pea, Dahlia, Violet, Tiger Lily, Azure, and Sky collections. I added a Color Made Easy Golden Rod ribbon, Color Made Easy Poppy Button, Ivory Jute Twine and some Kaiser Pink Pearls.

And remember that today is your last chance for this month's New Release Bundle of stamps at 10% off!!

AND for more fun SALE news...

Looking to add to your ribbon collection in your stamp room? Well, now is the time to stock up! Flourishes is having a bonanza of a ribbon sale. Nearly everything in our warehouse needs to go to make room for new collections! Most ribbon can be found at prices up to 40% off retail! And, once these ribbons are gone, they will be gone! So, hop on over and shop now for the best selection! Please visit the Flourishes Online Store to see the ribbon collections.

Today the Flourishes Team are excited to show you one more look at the June stamp Releases.  We liked everything so much we just couldn't stop at the Sneak Peeks so please stop and visit...

Amanda Havon
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Heather Jensen
Julie Koerber
Maki Jones
Silke Ledlow
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker

Flourishes Friday Favorites

Good Morning Flourishes friends! It's time for another Friday Favorites, and today I'm using A Year in Flowers 3, featuring the Chrysanthemum. By the way, I just love the Flourishes idea of a flower for every month of the year!

I stamped out the A Year In Flowers 3 in Versafine Vintage Sepia and the sentiment from Tiny Flowers and Tags in Memento Rich Cocoa. I colored my image in with Olive Greens Collection, Tiger Lily and the Beehive Collection Copic markers. I added some stitching along my patterned paper and matted it with Color Made Easy Rich Browns cardstock. I added a pearl flourish, some Color Made Easy Chocolate Brown ribbon, a Color Made Easy Poppy Button, and some Ivory Jute Twine.

I really had so much fun using this stamp set and letting my imagination run wild. I hope this Friday Favorites encourages you to pull out your favorite Flourishes stamp set, too! Also please stop by and  visit the Flourishes blog today for our special news! Christine is going to take over some of the design team management for Julie so she can help Jan Marie more. You can read all about it here: Flourishes Blog.

Please visit the rest of the team to gather more inspirations to fuel your creative passion!


Amanda Havon
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Danielle Kennedy
Julie Koerber 
Maki Jones
Silke Ledlow
Stacy Morgan


Have a great day!

Flourishes Release Week : Garden Gate

After a few days of peeks and tons of eye candy courtesy of the Flourishes Design Team, we're happy to share that the April sneaks are over and all of the sets we've been showing off are LIVE in the Flourishes Store HERE! Today, we bring you one more hop and this one will have you hopping past the garden gate to see a bevy of beautiful roses!

Garden Gate, illustrated by Marcella Hawley, takes the beauty of a shrub rose and makes it a card maker's delight! The set features one beautiful arched shrub rose branch and a fun-filled,whimsical scene welcoming you beyond the garden's gate. This 4 by 6" set also offers 5 beautifully scripted sentiments. 

Would you like to win this set?  Well, just as we have done in past release weeks, we offer our little guessing game of….

We don’t know which one of these ladies below will be the Mystery Blogger but one will, so leave comments on all of our designers’ blogs and you’ll be in the running to win today’s Garden Gate Stamp set! Want to see all the beautiful things you can create with this gorgeous array of shrub roses? Head on over and see…..

   Amanda Havon
  Christine Okken
  Cindy Lawrence
  Danielle Kennedy
  Heather Jensen
  Julie Koerber 
  Maki Jones
  Silke Ledlow
  Stacy Morgan

And.... if you own a Silhouette Cameo, you should know that there are a number of new cut files available too! We have the Bees and Blooms Cut File both for the Silhouette Cameo and in a SVG version as well. We have the Spring Blossom Cut file for the Silhouette Cameo and we also have the Garden Gate in a Silhouette Cameo Cut File as well! What creative fun! You can click HERE to see all of our cut files in the Flourishes store! There are a ton!

I used the Garden Gate stamp, stamping it with a solvent ink onto a sheet of Clear Cover Cardstock and colored everything in with the following Copic Collections : Crocus Collection, Flesh Tones 2 Collection, Olive Green Collection and the Evergreen Collection. I made a frame with the lightest cardstock from each of the Color Made Easy lines in Rich Browns and Pistachio, adhering my acetate to it using popdots to lift my image off the background paper. For my embellishments, I added some Scalloped Guipure Ivory lace, some Iced Lime Color Made Easy ribbon, a single Cream Leaf Pin and some small flowers.

*Note: If you are planning on coloring items in on clear Acetate cardstock, I have just a tip or two. You can't blend on clear cardstock very well. I have had mixed results, mostly success, but the more color you lay down, the stickier the cardstock gets. Which leads me to my next tip, if you do decide to color an image in, notice my image is "reversed" from the actual stamp image. I did that on purpose, to show the versatility of stamping on a clear cover cardstock. But when you color your image in, besure to place the colored inside so it's not facing out because it can get sticky, by facing it forward it will be smooth.

And of course I couldn't help myself, so I made another card because I really missed fussy cutting out my images!

I used stamped the Garden Gate out in Versafine Onyx Black onto Classic White cardstock, and colored my image in with the following Copics: Poppy, Olive Green, Terra Cotta, Copper, Flesh Tones 2, Sunflower and Blue Jeans Collections. After fussy cutting out my image, I adhered it on a die cut shape I cut in half and mounted them onto popots. I sponged my background diecut in Broken Glass Distress Ink, then I used my ScorTape and adhered everything to my card base that I diecut out. I made a base from Clear Cover Cardstock, which holds all those delicate pieces of the card together for me. kept the embellishment simple, only adding some Snow White Kaiser Pearls.
Here is the back of the card.

DO YOU WANT TO WIN OUR ENTIRE RELEASE?

If you want a chance to win all three of our new sets, you can always play in our Summer Lovin' Challenge – there will be multiple winners here AND you only have until 5PM EST today to enter!!! OR, play along with the gals for this week’s Timeless Tuesday Challenge! Check out the links for the official rules! You can also take advantage our New Release Bundle and get 10% off when you purchase all three together in a bundle. And, while you're shopping, did you check out the WHAT'S NEW PAGE on the Flourishes Store? There is a WHOLE BUNCH of new stuff that you'll want to check out!

Just like we do each release, we offer you the Saturday Winner's Circle -- a day when you can find out if you were one of the lucky commenters or.... winners in our Release Week Challenge! We'll have that post up tomorrow at noon -- so be sure to check back and see if your name landed in our latest Winner's Circle!


Thanks for joining us this week!

Flourishes Release Week : Bees and Blooms

Hi all and welcome to day 2 of Flourishes' fabulous sneak peeks! Today's stamp set is one that is close to our hearts in more ways than one. For starters, it's the last stamp set penned by Becky Fleck for Flourishes. And because of that, we decided to make it a special set that will help a cause close to Becky's heart. Take a peek at....

This stippled beauty called Bees and Blooms features apple blossoms and bees buzzing in such an artistic way. And, Becky created a SVG and Silhouette cut file to be used with this set. It's a unique look that is begging to be water-colored, colored up with Copics or just stamped on its own!

Now, the special part of this set. Becky is donating 100% of her artist fees to benefit the Relay for Life. Each year, more than 4 million people in over 20 countries take part in this global phenomenon and raise much-needed funds and awareness to save lives from cancer. And, Becky's team takes to the track in my own home town of Billings, Montana to help make a difference. Here's what Becky has to say about this powerful, uplifting, tear-jerking, survivor-uniting event....

"My aunt Linda took me to my first Relay for Life in July of 2005. It was 6 in the morning and the track at West High was three-deep in burning luminaries. It was such a breathtaking sight and I  remember how quiet and peaceful it was. That day, we formed our first team to walk the following year. We are a small band of sisters, nieces and friends called "Nip It In The Bud," and we joyfully celebrate the birthdays of three cancer survivors on our team. We are proud to have taken first place in the "Family & Friends" category the past three years for our fundraising efforts.

There is so much more to Relay for Life than just walking a track for 14 hours. Camaraderie is shared by everyone, support is given to those who need it, survivors are honored, lost battles are remembered, caretakers are appreciated, and everyone comes together with like minds and like goals. 

This quote, by Margaret Mead, hangs on a plaque in my pastor's office and offers a thought-provoking idea of the true meaning of Relay for Life: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."  To all of you who purchase my last stamp set from Flourishes, on behalf of my entire team, thank you for your support!

For my card I kept it simple and inked up the Bees & Blooms stamp with Cantaloupe, Potter's Clay and Rhubarb Stalk Memento inks, by just tapping the inks directly on my stamp, in a random fashion. I stamped out my image onto Flourishes Classic White cardstock, to which I then scored two lines across it using my ScorBuddy. I stamped the sentiment In Versafine Onyx Black, onto on of the Perfectly Pierced Victorian Ovals die set. Then I tied a ribbon from the Color Made Easy Poppy line called Basque Red, added a Poppy Button and some Metallic String to finish my card.

Because Flourishes supports Becky in her mission, 10% of all sales of Bees and Blooms will be funneled right into Becky's team fundraiser to raise money toward cancer research. Every single one of us has someone that we know that has been affected by this horrible disease. So, let's join forces to help stamp out cancer!
And, we'll also be giving away a set today. All you need to do is figure out......

We don’t know which one of these ladies below will be the Mystery Blogger but one will, so leave comments on all of our designers’ blogs and you’ll be in the running to win today’s Bees and Blooms Stamp set!  Want to see all the beautiful things you can create with this beautiful set for a fabulous cause? Head on over and see…..


  Amanda Havon
  Christine Okken
  Cindy Lawrence
  Danielle Kennedy
  Heather Jensen
  Julie Koerber 
  Maki Jones
  Silke Ledlow
  Stacy Morgan

DO YOU WANT TO WIN OUR ENTIRE RELEASE?
If you want a chance to win all three of our soon-to-be released sets, you can always play in our Summer Lovin' Challenge – there will be multiple winners here! OR, play along with the gals for this week’s Timeless Tuesday Challenge! Check out the links for the official rules! Also, if you like what you see on our designers’ blogs today, you can pre-order this set (along with the other two sets as well). You can also take advantage our New Release Bundle and get 10% off when you purchase all three together in a bundle. All sets will be live first thing Friday morning -- that's tomorrow -- along with the coordinating cut files for this release. So, be sure to stick with us this week as we unveil a whole new host of paper crafting goodies!
We’ll see you back here tomorrow for another new release sneak peek! This one will have you taking a trip past the garden gate for some beautiful inspiration!